Caroly Wilcox

Caroly Wilcox was a puppeteer and puppet designer/builder who has worked in the Muppet Workshop from 1969 to 1990. She started out as a puppeteer for various productions such as Sesame Street, The Great Santa Claus Switch, The Muppet Movie, and a few other projects. As a builder, Caroly designed and built puppets for many years on various projects such as The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, to name only a few. Wilcox has been viewed as the expert Muppet maker; and she trained many of the Muppet builders who've worked in the shop. She also had a variety of jobs within the Muppet Workshop like adding annotations to character sketches, noting how a puppet should be operated, and coordinating the parachute drop in The Great Muppet Caper. It appears that she really knows how to make puppets more life-like and how to coordinate the builders to make Muppet look real. For Sesame Street, Caroly Wilcox has served as the workshop supervisor for many seasons until her retirement in 1990. It's a pity she retired from puppet building that year, maybe it was because of Jim Henson's death that year that made her want to stop. She was later seen in a couple of interviews, one in 2005 about the making of Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas and one in a 2020 live-stream event. Sadly, Caroly died in 2021 and she was remembered by her fellow puppet builders a day after. It's a real shame that Wilcox passed away, but at least she wasn't working when that happened. Other puppet designers/builders she worked with include Michael K. Frith, Kermit Love, Don Sahlin, and many more. Things at the Muppet Workshop was never the same without her and it never will be again. Caroly Wilcox, you were literally a master when it comes to designing and building puppets. You've also been a big help to the Muppet performers and builders on bringing characters to life. All of the Muppet builders will never forget you for all the coordinating. As of right now, I bid you farewell Caroly. Rest in peace Wilcox!